Sunday, 20 March 2016

A Danish Viking burial site contains a buckle that may have come from Ireland or Scotland.

The history of this bronze buckle might share some light on just how “global” the Vikings were. (Photo: Ernst Stidsing)

At just 6 cm in diameter, this little buckle is causing quite a stir in archaeological circles.

The
small gilt bronze buckle once held a petticoat together and was buried
between 900 and 1,000 years ago with its female owner in a Viking grave
in west Denmark.

It is a rare find for Denmark, as the buckle appears to have come from Scotland or Ireland.But
just to determine this has been quite a journey, says project manager
and archaeologist Ernst Stidsing, from the Museum East Jutland, Denmark.

The
find is described in a collection of articles "Dead and buried in the
Viking Age", published by Saxo Institute at the University of
Copenhagen, Denmark.Read the rest of this article...

Elfdalian, a rare Viking language, is getting a revival after
local politicians agreed to build a new preschool in Älvdalen, the small
forest community that still uses it.

While its name might conjure up images from Game of Thrones or Lord of
the Rings, Elfdalian is a real language that is believed to date back to
Viking times and is in danger of becoming extinct.

Fewer than 60 children can currently speak Elfdalian, but politicians
in the remote town of Älvdalen in central Sweden have this week voted to
try to save it, by setting up a new preschool where it will be taught.
Pupils who begin learning the language aged six will keep it as part of
their curriculum until they turn 18.

"The decision was made yesterday that they will start to build the
preschool," Lotte Andersson, a press spokesperson for the municipality,
confirmed to The Local on Wednesday.

The
saint's legend speaks of a king who died a dramatic death in battle
outside the church in Uppsala, Sweden, where he had just celebrated
mass. But what can modern science tell us about his remains? A joint
research project headed by Uppsala University now reveals more of the
health condition of Saint Erik, what he looked like, where he lived and
what the circumstances of his death were. New light shed on life of
Sweden's King Erik

On
April 23, 2014, the reliquary was opened at a ceremony in Uppsala
Cathedral. After this, researchers from several scientific disciplines
set to work running tests on the remains in an attempt to learn more
about the medieval king [Credit: Mikael Wallerstedt]

No
contemporary sources mention Erik Jedvardsson, the Swedish king who was
later sainted. The only account of his life is the saint's legend, in
its preserved form written in the 1290's. Such legends are often
unreliable. The Erik legend is, however, based on an older legend which
has been lost, and this longer legend may have been much older.

The
preserved legend says that Erik was chosen to be king, ruled fairly,
was a devoted Christian, led a crusade against Finland, and supported
the Church. He was killed in 1160, in his tenth year of rule, by a
Danish claimant to the throne. His remains have rested in a reliquary
since 1257.Read the rest of this article...

A rune stone likely dating back to around the year 1000 has been
discovered in northern Denmark, some 250 years after it was last seen,
the National Museum of Denmark said on Thursday.

Researchers had long since given up hope of ever recovering the lost
Viking artefact when a farmer contacted Museum Thy in November to say
that he had a large stone with some stripes on it in his back yard that
he thought experts might want to see.

The museum’s archaeologist Charlotte Boje Andersen and runologist
Lisbeth Imer from the National Museum visited the farmer this week and
were absolutely shocked by what they found.

A cross discovered by an amateur Danish archaeologist may
"change history" according to an expert, who believes the cross may date
from before Christianity is thought to have reached Denmark.

An amateur archaeologist on the island of Funen made a startling
discovery last week – a necklace resembling Jesus on the cross. But
after posting a picture of the discovery on Facebook, Dennis Fabricius
Holm quickly found that the item may have a lot more significance than
he had initially thought.

“I finished work early last Friday, so I decided to spend a couple of
hours searching with my metal detector,” Holm told national broadcaster
DR.

“Suddenly I hit upon something,” continued Holm. “Ever since I turned
over the clump of earth and saw the cross, I’ve been unable to think of
anything else.”

A gilt bronze buckle dating to more than 1,000 years ago has been found
buried with a woman in a Viking grave in west Denmark. Determining the
origin of the 2.4-inch-wide buckle has been a major challenge, according
to archaeologist Ernst Stidsing of the Museum of East Jutland. Stidsing
sent photos of the buckle to a colleague who was stumped and who sent
them on to other experts. They agreed that it was from the British
Isles, but were divided on exactly which part—some said Ireland, others
the south of Scotland. They agreed, however, that the disc was
originally a decoration on a religious box and was only used as a buckle
after it was stolen.Read the rest of this article...

Friday, 4 March 2016

Norwegian researches opened a tomb containing the remains of
descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with
the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish
or Norwegian?

Norwegian researchers opened a tomb containing the remains of
descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with
the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish
or Norwegian?

“We have worked on investigating this for about seven years, so to
finally obtain material that we can test for DNA is huge,” historian
Sturla Ellingvåg told NTB.

The
island which was home to a Middle Saxon settlement was found at Little
Carlton near Louth, Lincolnshire by archaeologists from the University
of Sheffield.

It
is thought the site is a previously unknown monastic or trading centre
but researchers believe their work has only revealed an enticing glimpse
of the settlement so far.Read the rest of this article...

About Me

I am a freelance archaeologist and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland specializing in the medieval period. I have worked as a field archaeologist for the Department of Environment (Northern Ireland) and the Museum of London. I have been involved in continuing education for many years and have taught for the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) and the Universities of London, Essex, Ulster, and the London College of the University of Notre Dame, and I was the Archaeological Consultant for Southwark Cathedral. I am the author of and tutor for an OUDCE online course on the Vikings, and the Programme Director and Academic Director for the Oxford Experience Summer School.